Yu Shifan (second from the left) and her team members work joyfully in the fields in March, 2025. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Huzhou, Zhejiang province, is where the idea that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets first took root.

In March this year, China's first local regulation specifically designed to encourage young people to develop rural areas was enacted in Huzhou.

By integrating youth-driven rural development into local legal and planning frameworks, the regulation aims to address key challenges and inject fresh energy into rural revitalization.

Since the start of 2025, Huzhou has launched over 2,000 youth-led innovation projects across its rural areas.

These initiatives are giving rise to new business models and lifestyles, all driven by the creativity and ambition of young people.

From the digital nomad community — China's first comprehensive hub of its kind — nestled in the tea fields of Xilong township, Anji county of Huzhou, to a wide range of innovative projects that help boost local incomes, more and more young people in Huzhou are turning their dreams into reality among the green hills and clear waters.

Huzhou will continue to empower rural development through young talent, unlocking new growth drivers to help the youth tap their full potential. This influx of talent is reshaping urban-rural integration, offering a dynamic new vision of balanced growth.

In July, 2025, a rural tech startup conducts drone-based water quality testing and sampling amid the lush green hills of Anji county, Huzhou. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A coffee shop named Yucun Club, located in Anji county, Huzhou, sees a steady stream of visitors in April. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A concert is held in Xiaopu town, Changxing county, Huzhou to celebrate Youth Day on May 4, 2025. [Photo provided by He Pengfei/For China Daily]

Yao Yulin, a bearer of the Huzhou brush-making heritage, goes live to sell Huzhou brushes, ink, paper, as well as inkstones on Dec 29, 2024, with her husband Yang Wen assisting her on the side. [Photo provided by Yao Zhenquan/For China Daily]

Lu Yingfeng, founder of a hairy crab company based in Huzhou, displays crabs raised using traditional, free-range, all-natural methods in November 2015. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A band performs for the crowd at a night coffee venue run by young entrepreneurs on July 6, 2024. [Photo provided by Li Cheng/For China Daily]

On April 20, four young people come together to map out their response to the expected surge in visitors to their coffee shop over the May Day holiday this year. [Photo provided by Su Xin/For China Daily]